Advanced 3D ground modelling workflows to support the sustainable development of offshore windfarms

A fully-funded PhD studentship, as part of the Geoscience and Offshore Wind Joint Industry Programme, is available in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, starting 2024. This is an exciting opportunity to undertake geoscience postgraduate research to aid the energy transition, as part of the Geoscience and Offshore Wind Joint Industry Programme, partnered by offshore wind farm operators RWE, SSE and Vattenfall, alongside Geosolutions Leeds. This scholarship is open to UK applicants and covers fees plus a UKRI-equivalent maintenance allowance. 

Ambitions to grow offshore wind energy generation to meet national and global Net Zero goals require tremendous steps forward in engineering capabilities, alongside close integration with geoscience understanding. Building reliable three-dimensional ground models of offshore windfarm sites is a crucial step, to help mitigate risks, design suitable anchor and/or foundation types, determine the most appropriate cable routes, which requires integration of geophysical and geotechnical data. This studentship seeks to blend geological and geotechnical approaches to develop 3D ground models that permit cost effective and safe turbine foundations and cable route design. 

Three-dimensional geological characterisation of subsurface volumes is standard practice during the appraisal and development of oil and gas fields (e.g., Bentley and Smith 2008), and carbon storage sites (e.g., Jiang et al., 2013). These workflows are readily adaptable to the offshore wind development sites, but improved modelling workflows are required that integrate sedimentary and stratigraphic understanding with engineering data, and to populate geological information below seismic resolution. The uptake of three-dimensional geological models is particularly important in many prospective development areas, where the subsurface stratigraphy has been demonstrated to have high spatial and temporal variability, such as the North Sea and Irish Sea (e.g., Clare et al., 2012; Liingaard et al., 2012; Eaton et al., 2020; Cartelle et al., 2021). A scenario-based approach with different grid designs and monopile depths will capture a range of intersections with the substrate (Petrie et al., 2022). Grid resolution is a particularly important consideration as future developments in offshore wind are focused on very large (“XXL”) turbines (>8 m wide foundations).

Features that pose hazards to developments, such as glacial tectonics and shallow gas, need to be captured in ground models. Furthermore, workflows co-developed with industry partners will seek to accommodate future innovations, such as dynamic bathymetry, and sediment mobility (Figure 2) that account for substrate architecture and erodibility with changing seabed hydrodynamics. To minimise issues around data confidentiality and sharing of outcomes, this studentship will use publicly available data. Prospective areas for investigation include offshore Netherlands, and the Irish Sea. Any dataset documented in detail will also reveal new insights into Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change. 

Eligibility and career prospects

The School of Earth and Environment invites applications from prospective full-time (UK only) postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in 2024. Applicants should have a BSc degree (or equivalent) in geology, geology-geography, earth sciences, geophysics or a similar discipline, and an MSc or MGeol in geoscience or related fields (we will also consider applicants who do not hold an MSc/MGeol but hold a BSc with equivalent level industrial experience, please contact us to discuss). Experience of using geological mapping and modelling software, such as Petrel or Kingdom IHS, would be useful but not essential as training can be provided. The nature of this research project will enable the appointed applicant to consider a future career in either academia or industry. The main output will be workflows for integration of geotechnical and geological datasets in 3D geological models, for offshore wind as well as broader applications.

Geosciences, and geoscientists, are integral to the whole lifecycle management of offshore windfarms, from initial site evaluation, foundation and layout design, through installation, and operations and maintenance, to lifetime extension, repowering and decommissioning strategies. Therefore, it is essential that the skills and training of geoscientists are focused on meeting these challenges.

Training

Training will be provided in engineering geology, Quaternary science, geological model building, and clastic sedimentology and stratigraphy. The supervisory team have a strong track record of working in applied geosciences alongside industry. The successful applicant will join a team of 20+ academic staff, PDRAs and PhD research students who collectively form the Stratigraphy Group, which aims to engender a welcoming and collegiate atmosphere, and puts work-life balance and student-led development to the forefront.

The student will benefit from the research cultures in both the Institute of Applied Geoscience (IAG) and the Earth System Science Institute (ESSI) within the School of Earth and Environment, both of whom host a diverse and international postgraduate student community; alongside the cross-faculty Geosolutions Leeds Research Centre. The student will also regularly present to industry project partners, providing early peer review and feedback during their research programme, as well as widening their experiences and networks beyond academia. There may be the potential to work alongside science communication experts at the University of Leeds to develop tools from which ground models can be understood by a wide range of users.

For further information and entry requirements please see the project advert on the University of Leeds website.